Monday, January 16, 2012

New Forms of Abuse

Via an aside in a comment at Crooked Timber, this paragraph about a building:
[Antoine] Predock's design philosophy is very concerned with how the structure interacts with its surroundings. He has called his style "abstract landscape"; thus he blends the structure in with the surrounding landscape. The building also interacts with the people who use it. It was supposedly designed on purpose to be confusing. Visitors are often forced to talk to someone to find out how to get to where they need to go. Doorways that you need to pass through will sometimes be locked, forcing you to find a new way. The doors that get locked rotate every so often, further confusing the situation. The idea was to force human interaction because it houses the social sciences. The building also has a number of Emergency Buttons, colloquially referred to as "Panic Buttons" located throughout.
That amused me greatly, but the Wikipedia informs me that the architect is also responsible for the still-unfinished Canadian Museum for Human Rights which, when I was in Winnipeg, struck me as a notably scary erection. Will it, in fact, be torture to enter this museum?

9 comments:

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

I have liked his work in the past, when he was more regionally oriented in the southwest.

But if he is actually designing in such a way, he is guilty of malpractice.

It points out a huge shortcoming of architects as fashion accessories; having starchitect power on your project only assures a "signature" building for exterior photos and the architect's portfolio. Often, due to the demands of other commissions and burgeoning client base, as well as entry to the jet set, the execution of such plebeian details as "function" and "weather tightness" are left to the proles and associates, who are low on experience and have little autonomy.

Not that I wouldn't switch places with him in 2/10 of a second, and be even worse.

Substance McGravitas said...

Not that I wouldn't switch places with him in 2/10 of a second, and be even worse.

Rotating knives.

tigris said...

Rotating knives.

Didn't we already discuss "Zombie Hospital" once before?

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

yep. Moving from callous disregard for end users to violent hostility.

Also the mission statement at Microsoft, from all appearances.

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

Didn't we already discuss "Zombie Hospital" once before?


But it NEVER GETS OLD.

Rachel said...

It seems the Winnipeg museum only has one good side. In this picture,

http://www.canada.com/1039086.bin?size=620x400

it looks like an ice sculpture of a pig under a blanket.

Kathleen said...

I love that idea in an abstract I'll never work there way

zombie rotten mcdonald said...

yeah, Kathleen, the problem is that the big name architects seem to feel the same way about designing buildings once they achieve starchitect status.

Like the Masters of The Universe, if you don't feel empathy for the end users, you might as well send them down the soundproofed hall with the rotating knives.

Substance McGravitas said...

Most psychological experiments end and everyone is relieved.